Scruffy nerf herder
Toaster Loving AdMech Boi
We've all played around with different XP tables, fast progression, slow progression, and asked ourselves: what do I award XP for?
However, how many stop to consider that XP might be a part of the rules of D&D but it never completely made sense for a TTRPG? Pretty much every mechanic in the game, in some way, serves to help D&D be immersive. The dice make the world chaotic and random. Attributes, action economy, etc. are the building blocks for players to understand much of what they are capable of doing.
What does XP do? Nothing. It's a number that marks your progress towards the next level; but your character isn't any stronger yet. Also it doesn't even represent very well what making progress, and getting better at what you do, is like for a character; that's not exactly stellar as that's pretty much the main thing XP should accomplish...
Well what do I propose instead? Narrative leveling. Forget XP is even a thing and ask yourself as the DM: are my players making progress? Are they in an extreme situation where they're forced to outdo themselves? Do they now have access to new knowledge and training?
Think about it. What if your players consciously thought about how to get better at what they do? Wouldn't they be more motivated?
However, how many stop to consider that XP might be a part of the rules of D&D but it never completely made sense for a TTRPG? Pretty much every mechanic in the game, in some way, serves to help D&D be immersive. The dice make the world chaotic and random. Attributes, action economy, etc. are the building blocks for players to understand much of what they are capable of doing.
What does XP do? Nothing. It's a number that marks your progress towards the next level; but your character isn't any stronger yet. Also it doesn't even represent very well what making progress, and getting better at what you do, is like for a character; that's not exactly stellar as that's pretty much the main thing XP should accomplish...
Well what do I propose instead? Narrative leveling. Forget XP is even a thing and ask yourself as the DM: are my players making progress? Are they in an extreme situation where they're forced to outdo themselves? Do they now have access to new knowledge and training?
Think about it. What if your players consciously thought about how to get better at what they do? Wouldn't they be more motivated?